Bandstand Bluegrass

When I was a kid

, it was a yearly tradition to attend the

Santa Fe Bluegrass and Old Time Music Festival

with my parents. On one of these occasions, a family friend turned to me and asked, "Does this music get your foot tapping?"

It didn't.

But the genre I didn't have patience for as an 8-year-old has made its way into my subconscious, and

I have come to like it

. On Aug. 16, I saw the band

Atomic Grass

as it delivered

traditional bluegrass

music at the

Santa Fe Bandstand

.---

When I come

downtown

, I always imagine what it must be like from a tourist's eyes: admiring statues and jewelery vendors on Washington Street, peeking into art-filled gallery windows on Canyon Road If one meanders to the pedestrian-crowded Plaza at noon or 6 pm, the sounds of restaurantgoers is replaced by those of

bandstand bands

.

The Santa Fe Bandstand provides background music for shopping and strolling, not to mention it's

a free, all-ages

concert that welcomes dogs. Luckily, this is not a once-a-year event like the festivals I attended as a child. Santa Fe Bandstand, produced by

Outside In Productions,

takes place

every week

, Mondays through Thursdays,

July 5-Aug. 19

.

This particular day, the guitar, fiddle, bass, banjo and

country accents

of Atomic Grass gave the shady square the atmosphere of a

festival

.

Atomic Grass

took its audience back to a time when songs were simple and

straightforward

. It sung universal stories of

heartbreak

in an

upbeat tempo

.

The concert attracted a small but

enthusiastic audience

. If audience members weren't

bobbing up and down

with friends, they were on the dance floor directly below the stage,

dancing their hearts out

.

I joined them

with

my foot tapping

in

tribute to my parents'

musical taste.

Santa Fe Reporter